Boy Oh Boy
by Natalie122333
Summary: Revival AU. Luke and Lorelai actually go through with the surrogacy and they actually communicate. (Although I enjoyed some of the revival, I'm still mad that ASP chose to not give them kids and have them still have communication issues after 9 years...).
1. Chapter 1

**I'm still upset that Luke and Lorelai didn't have any kids in the revival. I read about the surrogacy plot before the eps premiered (because Germany saw the first ep then there was the LA premiere) and I had hope that it would end with them having a baby but it didn't… I hate that Luke was so against the idea (Scott Patterson kind of suggested that it's because was Luke intimidated by Paris?) and I hate that the reason they never had kids was because they continued to fail at communication (so frustrating!) I also hated that they dumbed Luke down, making him think he had to have sex with the surrogate.  
Anyways here is how I wanted the surrogacy story to go. It starts with Lorelai and Emily's fight after Richard's funeral.**

* * *

…. "You blow through life like a natural disaster, knocking down everything and everyone in your path. I wonder if Luke knew what he was getting into with you." Emily said.

"Don't…" Lorelai warned.

"Did you ever even ask him what he wanted? Where he wanted to live, if he wanted children? I'm sure none of that mattered to Lorelai Gilmore. Nothing ever matters to her, except what she wants, what she feels. And God help you if she thinks you've wronged her. She will hold onto that grudge forever just waiting for the moment to get back at you." Emily said bitterly.

"We did want children!" Lorelai shouted.

Emily looked taken aback but she didn't speak.

"I had a miscarriage… years ago." Lorelai's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that." Emily said gently.

Lorelai didn't acknowledge Emily's express of sympathy. She wanted to change the topic back to what started the argument.

"I made a mistake, a goddamn mistake! You never let me make a mistake ever, not once in my life which is how we always find ourselves here."

"Where?"

"Standing in the middle of this room, yelling at each other like idiots,"

"How dare you call me an idiot, I just lost my husband!" Emily shouted, her voice breaking.

"I just lost my father!" Lorelai countered, her voice shaky.

"And you couldn't care less!"

Lorelai gasped softly. She didn't know how to respond to that. How could Emily believe that?  
"That's horrible." She looked down and gasped again. She somehow found the strength to look back at Emily, "You're horrible."

Emily frowned, "Get out!"

Lorelai didn't argue. "First the help, then me, right." She started walking out of the kitchen.

"Go home!" Emily added. "Go back to you beloved town with its carnies and misfits and tell them how your intolerable mother yelled at you at your father's funeral, and they can all console you and tell you what a witch I am and how perfect you are!"

Lorelai only had three words for her mother, "Full freaking circle." Then she walked out the door.

* * *

When Lorelai returned home that night, she found Luke already asleep in bed. She sighed heavily and went into the bathroom to remove her makeup and change.

She settled in bed next to him ten minutes later. When sleep didn't come an hour later, she began to cry silently. Luke awoke when her silent tears turned into full blown sobs.

"Hey." He whispered.

Lorelai gasped. She hadn't heard him stir. He turned on his bedside lamp.

She didn't bother wiping her tears away before she turned to face him.

Luke pulled her into his arms. "Shh, it's okay." He whispered.

"No, it's not." She cried, her voice muffled by his chest.

He rubbed circles on her back.

"I screwed up." She said as she pulled away from him.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

Lorelai sniffled, "Well Mom wanted us all to tell our favourite stories about Dad and I panicked. I just couldn't think of anything… the next thing I know I'm telling them about the time dad found me and a boy right after we'd… you know."

Luke frowned.

"It was awful…" Lorelai grimaced. "Why couldn't I think of anything better than that? Anything happy, a happy memory? I'm sure there's a happy memory if I dug deep enough."

Luke's arm came around her, pulling her close again.

"Afterwards, I told Mom that I panicked because I didn't think there'd be a test… she was furious. We got into a huge argument and she suddenly asked if I had ever asked _you_ want _you_ wanted… where _you_ wanted to live if _you_ wanted kids."

"Me? She was concerned about me?"

Lorelai nodded. "I… she knows about the miscarriage." She looked down.

He rubbed her shoulder. "Oh." It had been seven years since they lost their baby. Only Rory, Sookie and April had known about it. Lorelai didn't want to tell her parents about the short lived pregnancy for fear of them judging her. She could picture them being ashamed that their daughter was having another child out of wedlock. And after she lost the baby, she was too depressed to do anything.

"Yeah, but I just brushed off her sympathy…" Lorelai groaned. "I'm such a screw up. She thinks I'm selfish, that I don't care about how other people feel."

Luke pulled her even closer. She pressed her face back into his chest.

"That's not true." He told her.

She didn't want to argue with him. She cried until her tears dried up. He comforted her by rubbing her back and pressing kisses to the top of her head.

When she pulled away, he gave her a weary look.

"I'm okay." She lied.

"You need to get some sleep." He said sternly.

She didn't say anything, she just lied down on the bed.

Luke got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He returned a few minutes later with two glasses of water and placed one on her nightstand. He set his glass on his nightstand and settled back in bed.

Once he had turned out the light, Luke turned and found Lorelai facing the wall. He put his arm over her and moved closer to her. After kissing her cheek gently, he closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep, wishing that Lorelai would be able to get some rest too.

* * *

 **Author's note: This first chapter is just to get the story started. I will get more into the surrogacy plot and have a flashback next chapter. Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

_2008_

 _The baby was planned. After Luke and Lorelai discussed marriage and decided they didn't need to be married and they just wanted to be together, they talked about having kids. They spent a fair amount of time talking about it and decided that they would try for a baby. The year they spent apart did not decrease their desire to have kids together._

 _Lorelai wanted Luke to be able to see his child grow and experience all the milestones. And she just wanted another kid, one with him. She wanted to raise a kid with a responsible and loving partner. Having April in his life increased Luke's desire to have a child with Lorelai. After they broke up, he thought he would never get that chance. When they got back together, he made a promise to himself. He would express his wish to have a baby with her and he would accept her opinion and thoughts no matter what. He would never push her away again._

 _They decided to start trying for a baby in January of 2008. They lost hope when they didn't conceive by May, but they kept trying and Lorelai suggested they visit a fertility specialist if she didn't get pregnant in another couple months. In mid July, Lorelai took a pregnancy test and it was positive. She almost didn't believe it. Once the shock faded, she called Luke, who was waiting in the bedroom. He hurried into the bathroom. Once she held up the test and told him it was positive, he grinned and lifted her into his arms and off the floor._

* * *

 _Lorelai didn't make a gynecologist appointment for a couple weeks. The Inn was very busy and she just didn't have time to schedule one. On a hot August morning, she woke up before Luke. It was a Sunday, the day of the week Luke slept in a little and let Caesar open the diner. She hadn't experienced much morning sickness thus far and was grateful for that. Instead of going back to sleep, she got out of bed, feeling the need to empty her bladder. She noticed a little blood on her panties and frowned. She thought a little spotting was normal so she didn't worry about it._

 _When Lorelai came back into the bedroom, Luke was awake and still in bed._

" _Morning hon." She said gently._

" _Morning," He murmured, stretching._

 _He slowly got up and met her in front of the dresser. She reached out and brushed his arm. He gave her a small smile and gently touched her shoulder. Without another word, he went into the bathroom to shower. He didn't ask why she was up before him although it was as rare as a blue moon._

 _Lorelai ate breakfast while he showered. Then she came back upstairs to get dressed. She gasped when she noticed there was more blood in her panties._

" _Luke…" She called out._

 _The bathroom door opened and Luke came out with only a towel wrapped around his waist._

" _Did you call me?" He asked._

" _Yeah, um…" She bit her lip. "I think you need to take me to the hospital."_

 _He rushed over to her. "What's wrong?" He placed a hand on her back._

" _The baby" She said in a low voice._

" _What?" He gasped._

" _I'm bleeding." She said quietly._

 _Luke frowned and then realized that that meant something was wrong. He stepped away from her and quickly gathered clothes to change into. He threw on a t-shirt, boxers and jeans in less than three minutes._

" _Let's go." He said seriously._

 _Lorelai just nodded._

 _April was visiting during the last three weeks of her summer vacation. She was still asleep in Rory's old bedroom. Luke hastily wrote a not to her, letting her know where they were and not to worry. He was worried himself, but he didn't want Lorelai and April to worry too._

 _An hour later, an ER doctor confirmed that Lorelai had suffered a miscarriage._

 _Lorelai was speechless. Luke took her hand in his and squeezed it._

 _The doctor informed them that Lorelai needed a D and C. She just nodded, consenting to the procedure._

 _Luke made a noise that sounded like a strangled cough._

 _Lorelai glanced at him. He met her eyes. They were cool and dark._

" _I just… are you sure you're ready for this now? We just found out." He needed time to process and he was worried about her lack of emotion._

" _It needs to be done." Lorelai said tonelessly. She gestured to the doctor and he lead her away._

 _Luke was left in the exam room alone. He found a chair and sat down with a thump. He put his face in his hands and waited for tears that wouldn't come._

 _It was eleven am when they arrived home. April was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast._

" _There you are! I was about to call the Hartford hospital…" April said. She glanced at her father and Lorelai's faces. "Oh my god something happened. You told me not to worry but something's wrong."_

 _Lorelai gave Luke a look that said 'You tell her." She pulled away from him and left the room, heading upstairs._

 _Luke waited until he heard the bedroom door shut upstairs. "Um, Lorelai lost the baby." He said in a low voice._

 _April frowned, "Oh." She stepped closer to Luke. "I'm so sorry, Dad." She offered him a hug._

 _He accepted the hug. When they pulled apart, he mumbled, "I know how much you wanted a little brother or sister."_

 _April shook her head. "Don't worry about that." She looked towards the living room. "You need to go upstairs. Lorelai needs you."_

 _Luke nodded. He pressed a quick kiss to April's forehead._

 _When Luke pushed open the bedroom door, Lorelai didn't move. She was lying on her side in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin._

 _Luke got into the bed without saying a word. Before he could move closer to her, Lorelai turned to face him and cuddled up to him._

 _He automatically began rubbing her back._

 _She sobbed and mumbled something._

 _He gently pushed her away a little._

" _It's not fair." She cried._

" _I know." He said. He wiped at her tears with the pads of his thumbs._

" _We wanted this baby and now he's gone."_

" _He?"_

" _I… had a feeling it was a boy." She said absentmindedly._

" _Oh." He whispered. He didn't admit that he had imagined them having a little girl._

 _She looked up at him. He took a few seconds to meet her gaze._

" _I'm sorry." She said._

 _A tear slid down his cheek. "Shh. You have nothing to be sorry about." He whispered back._

 _She felt his lips brush her hair and her forehead. Little did he know she was apologizing for the fact that she was too broken hearted to try for another baby. She didn't want to tell him this, at least not yet. Not when the loss was so fresh. They needed time to grieve. And besides, it was a quick decision, one she hadn't put much though into. Although she knew she never wanted to experience this pain again._

 _She moved and laid her head on his chest. He held her tight. They lied there and comforted each other until they found the strength to move._

* * *

 _When Lorelai came downstairs for dinner, April gave her a hug and shared her condolences. Lorelai managed a small smile, "Thank you sweetie."_

 _Lorelai called Rory after dinner and told her the news. Rory said she would come home, forget about everything, all her job responsibilities and come home immediately. Lorelai refused her daughter's offer. "I'll be okay. We'll be okay." She said._

* * *

Present Day

Lorelai woke with a pounding headache. She groaned and opened her eyes, relieved to find a glass of water on her nightstand. She took a few sips then sat up.

"Got a headache?" Luke asked as he entered the bedroom.

"I'm hungover. I drank way too much with Mom last night." She grimaced. "Never thought I'd say that sentence,"

Luke made a 'tsk' noise. He walked over to her side of the bed and held out his hand.

He was holding a pill. "Aspirin," He said.

She gave him a grateful smile and took the pill from him and swallowed it with another swig of water.

"Shouldn't you be at the diner?" She asked.

"I'm taking one more day off." He told her. He hadn't been to the diner since the day of Richard's death.

"Oh." She got out of bed.

"I need to-"He stopped.

"You need to what?" She asked.

"Make sure you're okay." He reached out and touched her arm. "It sounds like your mom had a rough night last night."

Lorelai laughed half-heartedly. "More like an awful night."

"Are we still going to go to the occasional dinner?" He asked hesitantly. He didn't know how to broach the topic after Richard's passing. Luke and Lorelai had gone to the Gilmore's for dinner every other week for years.

"No." Lorelai said flatly.

"Really?"

"Yes." Lorelai walked out of the room and into the bathroom. She didn't shut the door behind her so he followed her in.

"I'm not going to speak to her after what she said to me. We're not going to see her either. I won't let her put me down again." Her voice shook a little.

Luke remembered what she said last night. He knew this was the biggest fight the mother and daughter had ever had.

"But she needs you right now. You need each other." Luke said slowly.

"Well she has a funny way of showing that."

He gave her a wary look.

"Luke."

He looked at her.

"I don't want to go. I know she's grieving and I am too but the things she said to me…" She sighed. "I just think it would be best if we had some time apart. What I said to her didn't help things, but I just need some space. Okay?" Lorelai rubbed her face with her hand.

"Okay. If you think that's what's best." Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded. She kissed his cheek. "Thanks for being so understanding."

Luke gave her a small smile. He left the bathroom and she closed the door behind him.

Later that night in bed, Lorelai woke in a cold sweat. Luke was still sleeping peacefully next to her. She woke him up; seeking comfort only he could give her.

Luke blinked made a noise of protest.

Lorelai instantly regretted waking him up. "Sorry."

"What's wrong?" He became alert.

"I just… I miss him." Lorelai said solemnly.

Luke pulled her to him. "I know." he said.

"Don't leave." She whispered softly.

Luke was confused as to why she would think he would ever leave. He held her tighter.

"Never,"

Her lips found his in the dark.

* * *

4 Months Later

The first Friday night dinner with Rory back in town was awkward to say in the least. Lorelai had tried calling and emailing Emily over the past couple of months, but she never answered. Kirk had given Lorelai a ride with his Öööber car service and he had to stay for dinner since his car broke down. Lorelai called Luke who came to pick them up. They ate dinner together and Luke took Kirk's seat when he went outside to play soccer with the maid's kids.

"Lorelai, can I speak to you after dessert?" Emily said suddenly.

"Um sure," Lorelai exchanged looks with Rory and Luke.

They went into Richard's study. It was dead silent. Lorelai stared at her mother. She didn't want to be the first one to speak as she didn't know what to say or what Emily wanted.

Emily looked Lorelai straight in the eye. "Why did you never tell me you had a miscarriage? Or even that you and Luke wanted children."

Lorelai sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about this with you. It's between Luke and me."

"I'm sure Rory knew about it… and the whole town probably. You've always kept your father and me out of anything important in your life."

"Actually only Rory, April and Sookie knew." Lorelai huffed.

"But you couldn't bother to tell your parents that they were going to be grandparents again?" Emily shot back.

"No because I knew you'd judge us. You wouldn't approve of another baby out of wed lock, Luke's baby. He's just a diner owner who could never support me…" Lorelai trailed off. She really didn't want to discuss this.

"And besides, a lot of couples don't tell anyone until they pass twelve weeks."

"They tell their loved ones." Emily protested.

"Well I don't." Lorelai crossed her arms.

"No, you just don't tell me or your father."

"You wouldn't be happy, I know you wouldn't. You would just criticize me, tell me all the ways it would be wrong… my age, my partner, my parenting skills. Just admit it, you wouldn't approve."

Emily's brow furrowed. "Now you're just making assumptions. If you have told us, we would have been accepting. We would have offered you support."

"Yeah, financial support," Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Yes, if you needed it."

"Okay fine. I just wasn't ready to tell you right away. I would have told you eventually."

"You would have had to tell us about the pregnancy, but you never mentioned the miscarriage… and it's been how many years?"

"About seven and a half," Lorelai looked away.

Emily shook her head and gave Lorelai a disapproving look.

"I was depressed for a long time after it happened. It took a long time for me and Luke to heal."

Emily didn't say anything.

"I'm leaving." Lorelai said abruptly. She got up and headed to the door.

"You still should have told us! I'm hurt you didn't!" Emily raised her voice.

Lorelai was shocked that Emily admitted this. But she didn't let it show,

"We're all hurt, Mom. I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay?"

"But Lorelai," Emily objected.

Lorelai walked out of the room. She found Rory and Luke standing by the front door. "We're leaving."

Luke offered his hand to her and she took it. He led her out the door. Rory held back and said goodbye to Emily who called out to Lorelai again. Lorelai didn't go back.

"Kirk! We're leaving!" Luke called out.

Kirk came running from the backyard. Rory came outside and Lorelai said a quick goodbye to her.

* * *

Luke and Lorelai went to close the diner for the night. They got talking about April when Lorelai found a letter from her.

"Luke." She said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever regret the decision we made… to not try again after the miscarriage?"

Luke frowned, "I told you I was okay with it years ago."

"I know, but it's been years and I know sometimes I wish we had tried again." She let out a breath. "I don't know."

"Lorelai," He came around the counter and stood in front of her. "Why are you asking this now?"

"Because apparently talking to my mother about it made me think about it again."

"You talked to her about it?"

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Yeah, remember she found out about it after the funeral?"

"Yeah, so that's what you talked about tonight?"

"Yeah. She said she was hurt that I didn't tell her about it."

Luke pressed his lips together. He wasn't sure what to say.

"So it got me thinking about what could have been and I realized that I do regret that decision."

Luke put a hand on her back. "You know I'm happy right? I mean sure, sometimes I think about what could have been if we had a kid, but I'm fine. I'm happy that we're together. We're good together Lorelai, and your mother can't change that. It doesn't matter what she thinks, we did what was best for us."

Lorelai wiped at a tear that was on her cheek. "I know but Luke, this is what I want. It took me years to realize it for some reason, but I still want a kid with you."

Luke looked puzzled. "Isn't it… too late?"

"I don't know. We could try surrogacy. Paris runs an agency, you know Paris, Rory's friend."

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you for reading, reviewing and following. The next chapter will include another flashback of Luke and Lorelai deciding not try again after the miscarriage. I wasn't exactly sure how to have L/L bring up the topic of surrogacy without making it seem like Emily was putting the idea in her head, like she only wants to do it to please Emily. But I also want to portray that both Lorelai and Luke still wanting a baby years after the miscarriage and at the same time I want a good excuse for them not bringing that up for years… this story is a little hard to write haha. Feedback is appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

" _I don't know. We could try surrogacy. Paris runs an agency, you know Paris, Rory's friend."_

Luke bit his lip and stared at Lorelai. "You really want to try this? Try to have a baby again after all this time?"

"Yes." Lorelai replied. She was sure.

"You want to be parents off a newborn when we're forty eight and fifty two?" He asked.

Lorelai let out a little laugh, "Well when you put it that way it sounds like it's going to be awful."

"It would be hard." Luke took a seat on a stool. Lorelai also sat.

"Yes, but it would also be very rewarding."

Luke stayed silent as he continued to stare at her. He spoke after a minute passed.

"Why don't we go home and discuss this further, do a little research."

Lorelai smiled softly, happy that he didn't immediately object the idea. "Sure."

* * *

At home, they got in bed and Lorelai placed her laptop in her lap. While they waited for it to boot up, Paul Anka suddenly came into the room and jumped up on the bed.

Luke groaned. "Why does he feel the need to sleep on our bed almost every night?"

"Aw. He just wants to be close to his parents." Lorelai said.

"How many times have I told you, I'm not his father," Luke huffed.

"But you love him." Lorelai turned and looked at Luke with a meaningful expression. "Even if you pretend not to,"

Luke moved a little and reached down to pat Paul Anka's head. Lorelai smiled. She knew Paul Anka had wormed his way into Luke's heart years ago.

"You know, if we end up having a kid, he or she would keep us up late most nights. Even when they're older, they'll come running in here after having a nightmare and want to sleep in our bed." Lorelai said as she pictured the scenario in her mind.

"Yeah," Luke muttered. Although he had never experienced a night with a newborn baby, he and Lorelai had babysat Doula, Steve and Kwan and Sookie and Jackson's kids a handful of times.

"Alright, here a found a good site to look at," Lorelai said a couple minutes later.

They read the information at a steady pace. Luke motioned for Lorelai to scroll down when he had finished reading the paragraphs that had took up a single page.

"Yikes." Lorelai mumbled when she saw the average cost of a surrogacy.

"What?" Luke asked.

Lorelai pointed at the screen.

"Oh."

"This is going to be harder than I thought." She admitted.

"I think we can afford it," He said quickly.

"How do you know?"

He asked her to log onto their joint bank account online. They got the account a year after Luke had moved in. He politely asked her to give him the laptop.

After about ten minutes had passed, he put the laptop back on her lap. His expression was unreadable.

"Well?" She let out a breath.

"We can afford it." He said, meeting her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, I did the calculations."

They were silent for a minute. Lorelai felt his hand brush her knee. She looked back at him.

"You're really sure you want to do this?" He asked.

"Yes. I at least want to try. I really want to have a kid with you… and before you ask, no I don't want to do it to please my mother. Do you want to do this too, Luke?" Her voice was a little shaky.

Luke nodded slowly. "Yes. I want to try this. I want to raise a kid with you…" He stopped and gently took her hand in his. "But there's no guarantee that this we'll work, we can't get our hopes up,"

Lorelai looked down. They had both read about the chances of a successful surrogacy using her egg. It wasn't high. She wanted to hear Paris' and her colleague's opinions first. She didn't completely trust the information on the internet.

"I know." She finally spoke after thinking for a minute. "But I still want to try. This will be our last chance to have a biological child before I start menopause." She rubbed his palm with her finger. "Unless you want to try adoption instead?"

"No." He said flatly.

She frowned.

"I don't know, I mean I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there in other countries w-"

She interrupted: "And here in the U.S."

"Yes here too, but I'd prefer to have a kid of our own. I can picture a little girl that looks like you so clearly, you know?" Luke replied.

"A little girl?" Lorelai pondered.

"Yeah. She'd have eyes the shade of yours and Rory's."

"But she'd have to have some of your good looks too." Lorelai nudged him.

"I guess."

"I can picture us having a boy who'd be a mini Luke, but with some of my features too." Lorelai admitted.

"Hmm," Luke tried to picture a little boy.

"Well, before we get all emotional imagining this, we have to take the first step. I can call Paris' office tomorrow."

"Okay." Luke said simply.

"So you're one hundred percent sure about this?" She asked.

He squeezed her hand, "Yes."

"Okay." She whispered with a smile.

Luke yawned.

"Ready for bed?" She asked.

He nodded. Lorelai turned her laptop off and set it on her nightstand.

"Good night." She said. She leaned in, wanting a kiss.

He kissed her softly. "Night,"

* * *

 _2008_

 _Three months after the miscarriage, Lorelai decided it was finally time to bring up the topic of trying again. Or not trying again. He was late coming home from the diner that night._

" _Sorry I'm late. Caesar had to leave early and it was busy." He said._

" _It's okay." She said gently._

 _He took a seat on the couch. Lorelai was standing._

" _Did you eat already?" He asked._

" _Yep. I ordered a pizza. Did you eat at the diner?"_

" _Yeah,"_

 _They were silent for a beat._

" _Come here." He said in a low voice, patting his lap._

 _She grinned and sauntered to him. Once she was sitting in his lap, she whispered: "Hi."_

" _Hi." He tilted his head and their lips met in a slow kiss. They had been more intimate and affectionate than before after they got back together. But there had been little intimacy since the miscarriage._

 _She pulled away slowly. His kiss was distracting, but she didn't forget what needed to be discussed. She bit her lip and diverted her eyes._

" _Lorelai?" She felt his hand move up and down her back. "What's wrong?"_

 _She managed a small smile. She could tell he was deeply concerned. She pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips, almost as if to ease the pain she was about to bestow upon him._

" _I…" She still didn't meet his eyes. "I don't want to try for another baby."_

 _Luke let out a small gasp._

 _Lorelai brought her hand up to his cheek. "I'm sorry." She whispered._

" _No, it's okay." He said slowly._

 _She slid off his lap awkwardly. Once she was settled next to him, she put a hand on his knee._

" _I just don't want to go through this heartbreak again." Her voice broke on the last word._

" _I understand."_

 _She wasn't sure what to say. This was not the reaction she expected. "I mean there's no guarantee that I would have another miscarriage, but there's also no guarantee that we would have a healthy baby. So I think it would be best if we just gave up."_

" _You're right." He looked at her. His hand rested on top of hers. "The past three months have been rough. The last time I remember feeling like this was when my dad died." He said._

 _Lorelai squeezed his hand. She had never seen him this sad either. The only time she saw him cry was on his dark day last year, the third November 30_ _th_ _she had spent with him. After the miscarriage he had shown more emotion to her than ever before. They held each other night after night._

 _She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt his lips on her forehead._

" _I don't want to try again. What you said is true, there's no guarantee of either outcome but I don't want to go through this again." He cleared his throat. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to happen, us having a kid."_

" _Maybe," She said softly. She looked at him. "The doctor said that miscarriages are more common at my age anyways…" She sighed._

" _We'll be okay." He murmured. His arm came around her._

 _She nodded solemnly. "We've still got each other and Rory and April and everyone."_

 _He noticed a tear had fallen on her cheek. He wiped at it with his thumb. "Yeah," He whispered._

 _He stood suddenly. She sniffled and looked up at him. He held his arms open. She went into them without hesitation._

" _Thank you." She whispered in his ear._

" _There's no need to thank me."_

 _He held her close for a couple minutes and told her he loved her before he pulled away._

 _She gave him a tearful smile, "I love you too."_

* * *

Present Day

They made an appointment at Dynasty Makers, Paris' fertility and surrogacy clinic, a couple days later. Lorelai was given a book full of women's pictures, potential surrogates. She looked through it with Luke and she could tell he was uncomfortable.

"Are you okay, hon?"

"I'm fine." He said quickly with a pat on her knee.

Paris came out of her office and after exchanging greetings, they followed her back in. Paris spoke fast, telling them that she would find them a "prime mate" to carry their baby. Luke still seemed uncomfortable, this becoming more evident when Paris made a remark about his "boys" and showed them a slideshow of women. Paris told Lorelai that the chances of having a baby using eggs over the age of forty four with IVF were about 1 % per try.

This upset Lorelai. It seemed liked they wouldn't end up with a baby after all. But she told herself that they would still try. As long as Luke wanted to that is. Paris bluntly asked Luke if he wanted a baby.

"Uh yes," He mumbled.

Lorelai patted his shoulder. He looked at her.

"Are you sure, hon?" She asked quietly, trying to keep Paris out of it.

"Can we talk in private?" Luke whispered back.

Lorelai flashed a smile at Paris. "We'll be back."

"Okay, but don't be too long, I have another appointment in ten minutes." Paris answered.

Luke and Lorelai stepped outside of the room and walked down the hall.

"Okay, you were clearly distressed in there. Are you okay? Did you change your mind? Need a time machine to go back in time?" Lorelai asked him.

Luke sighed heavily. "It's Paris." He grunted. "She's making me uncomfortable with all her questions and comments."

"Oh." Lorelai let out a little giggle. "She can be very intimidating."

"That's an understatement." Luke watched as Lorelai pulled out her phone from her purse. "Do we have to do this through her?"

Lorelai looked up from her. "She's the best, you heard her. I'm going to look up this place on Yelp like she said."

Luke moved closer and squinted at her phone.

"Hmm, there _are_ very good reviews on here."

"Lorelai," He said sternly.

She put her phone back in her purse. "Sorry." She smiled.

"Can you… I don't know tell Paris to tone it down a little?"

"Sure. I'll try at least." They headed back to Paris's office.

Once they took their seats, Paris asked if they were going through with it.

"Yes. We want to, but Paris… uh can you maybe not be so I don't know…daunting?" Lorelai instantly regretted saying that.

"Daunting? You think I'm daunting?" Paris glanced from Lorelai to Luke.

"No, I mean can we just approach this less personally, like without you making comments about Luke's body's parts." Lorelai held back a laugh and said _Dirty_ in her mind.

Paris considered this for a moment. "I suppose." She said. "How about I pick a couple of potential surrogates for you and we meet again in a couple of weeks?"

"That sounds great, thank you Paris." Lorelai grinned. "Oh and the surrogate's ethnicity and religion don't matter to us." She added.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Luke said sincerely.

Paris came around her desk and pulled Lorelai into a quick hug, surprising her. When she pulled back she offered Luke her hand. He shook it reluctantly.

* * *

Luke and Lorelai talked a lot on the drive home. Lorelai shared her fear of their hopes going up in flames after hearing the low success rate from Paris.

"But it's still worth a try right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, but I can't help but feel like it will end in failure again."

Luke didn't say anything. He pulled off the highway at the next exit.

"This isn't Stars Hollow." Lorelai muttered.

He parked at an empty car pool lot across from a gas station.

"Lorelai, I know this might not turn out the way we want to too, but I still want to try it."

"I do too."

He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her.

"It's not like it's impossible, so we have to try." She said.

"Okay." He knew she was telling the truth. "But we have to be able to deal with it if it doesn't happen."

"I know."

He rubbed her arm. "All right. I knew that, I just don't want us to fall apart if tragedy strikes again."

She was shocked by his words. "We won't." Her voice was steady. She took his hand.

"We're strong together and nothing will change that."

He smiled and kissed her quickly. His actions showed he agreed with her.

They headed back to the highway. Both of them dreamed of their potential future child that night.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading, reviewing and following this story. Please let me know what you think of this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Paris brought two potential surrogates to Luke and Lorelai's house. They all sat down with coffee and snacks. Lorelai asked most of the questions. Once Paris and the surrogates had left, Luke asked if Lorelai had made a decision.

"It's your decision too." She nudged him playfully.

"I know. I just wanted to know what you think."

"I think they're both good candidates. They're both sweet, caring, they're both mothers. They've been surrogates before. This is going to be a tough choice." Lorelai frowned.

"I think Isabelle is the better choice. I don't know she just kind of gave off this vibe for me." Luke shrugged. "I feel like she understands us and what this means to us."

Lorelai smiled, "Yeah I got that too. Jessica was nice but I think Isabelle is a better fit." She agreed.

They were silent for a couple minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

"So we'll have to go back to Paris' office and sign all the necessary papers." Lorelai got up from the couch. "I'll call her tonight."

Luke just nodded.

* * *

About three weeks later, everything was set. Lorelai, Luke and Isabelle had health screenings, contracts and agreements were signed, and financial matters were handled. Lorelai was started on a fertility drug and Luke was scheduled for sperm donation.

When Lorelai caught Rory up to speed on all of the surrogacy plans, Rory asked if she had spoken to Emily recently.

"Why?" Lorelai asked, her voice lacking emotion.

"Well shouldn't you tell her that you and Luke are trying to have a kid? She should know that she might become a grandmother again."

"I don't know. I'd rather be sure that it works out first… the odds are against us, kid." Lorelai said sadly.

Rory let out a breath. "Fine, but I know she probably misses you. She probably regrets fighting with you… I think you should cut her some slack."

Lorelai didn't respond.

"I mean she lost her husband. Did you ever imagine a time where there'd be a Grandma without a Grandpa?"

"No." Lorelai said honestly.

"Check on her." Rory said.

"Fine, I'll check on her." Lorelai agreed.

"Good."

Their conversation went on a little longer, it ending with Lorelai reminding Rory to break up with her boyfriend.

* * *

Lorelai went to see Emily the next day. The place was disastrous. There were boxes piled outside and people carrying various objects through the house. Lorelai wondered where Emily was and why she was letting these people do this.

She found Emily coming down the stairs. Emily was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Jeans and a t-shirt. This caused Lorelai to mutter a profanity under her breath.

Emily explained that Berta and her extended family were helping her declutter her life. Lorelai poured drinks for them and urged Emily to sit and taste it. They toasted. Lorelai didn't know why she did it or why she said "cheers" but it felt right for some reason.

They talked and Lorelai felt upset about what Emily was saying about her processions bringing or not bringing her joy.

"Mom, nothing is going to bring you joy right now." Lorelai said in a dejected tone. "Nothing, your husband just died…"

"I don't know how to do this." Emily admitted.

"Do what?" Lorelai said dimly.

Emily went on to say she didn't know how to live her life, didn't know what to do without Richard. She pointed out that she had been married for fifty years and although Lorelai expressed sympathy, Emily said she didn't understand because she's not married.

Lorelai was immediately offended by that. "Luke and I are as good as married." She stated.

"No you're not. You're roommates. And someday you'll just go off and find another roommate…"

Lorelai didn't want to argue about that. Luke was her life partner. They didn't need to get married to prove that. The fact that Emily felt this way about them made Lorelai not feel sorry about not telling her about the surrogacy.

Lorelai asked if Emily was still going to her grief group. Emily told her that she stopped going. Lorelai suggested seeing someone one on one. Emily objected to seeing a therapist. She said she wasn't crazy.

"No, you're in pain." Lorelai urged her to consider it.

Emily claimed she would. She promised.

* * *

Lorelai went through the egg extraction procedure a week later. They only managed to get one egg, but it was viable and they would fertilize it as soon as possible.

A few weeks later, Emily called and told Lorelai that she had found a therapist. They talked about the therapist and Emily actually thanked her for suggesting she find one.

"I'm so glad mom, really." Lorelai was touched and happy that Emily had found a therapist that clicked with her so fast.

Emily expressed her desire for Lorelai to meet the therapist. Lorelai agreed to this, seeing no harm in meeting the woman. Luke suddenly started gesturing at her. He was clearly objecting.

Lorelai ignored him and ended the call after they agreed to a meeting time of Tuesday at three.

"What sort of attack are you having?" Lorelai asked Luke.

Luke asked if she was crazy.

"Why?" Lorelai was confused.

"You're going to therapy with your mother."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Lorelai insisted that Emily just wanted her to meet the therapist. She was full of pride, happy that Emily had finally taken her advice. Realization slowly came over her.

She placed her hand on Luke's shoulder and frowned, "Oh crap, I'm going to therapy with my mother." She cringed and looked down.

Luke also cringed then stepped closer and wrapped a comforting arm around her. They walked slowly towards Gypsy's. Right before they got to Gypsy's, Lorelai's phone rang again.

"It's not your mother again, is it?" Luke pondered, sounding a little frightened.

"No, it's Paris."

Lorelai pulled back from Luke's embrace and answered her phone.

"Hi Paris,"

"Hello Lorelai. I've got some great news. Can you come to my office this afternoon?"

Lorelai gasped. Luke gave her a concerned look. She reached down and took his hand.

"I don't think I'll have time to make it there today, can you tell me over the phone?"

Paris was silent for a moment. "Well I suppose I can. Congratulations, the implantation was a success; Isabelle is pregnant with your baby."

Lorelai put her other hand to her mouth. She was in shock. She had doubts that they would make it this far. She thought her eggs wouldn't be healthy enough or the fertilization process would go wrong.

"Lorelai?" Paris and Luke said at the same time.

"Could you hold on a second?" Lorelai said to Paris. Without waiting for a response, she pulled her phone away from her ear and turned to Luke.

"Isabelle is pregnant with our baby." She told Luke with a grin on her face.

Luke smiled brightly. "That's great… I wow…" He was shocked too.

Lorelai quickly hugged him then raised her phone back to her ear.

"Thanks so much Paris. Yeah he's right here… okay we'll keep in touch with you and Isabelle. Bye."

Luke pulled Lorelai back into his arms. "This is amazing." He whispered.

"It's a miracle. We're so lucky." She whispered back.

Neither of them spoke about the chances of Isabelle miscarrying the baby. They were trying to remain positive.

Luke pulled away. "Let's go get your Jeep."

Lorelai nodded and took his hand. They walked hand in hand.

* * *

When they got home that night, Luke got a couple of beers out of the fridge.

"I think this calls for a little celebration." He said.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "It does!" She said excitedly. "Let's go upstairs."

Luke chuckled. He followed her upstairs, carrying the beer bottles in his hands.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. I took some dialogue from the revival… this story will be mostly following the revival plot, with the addition of the surrogacy.**


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later, Lorelai noticed Luke was acting strange. She asked him if something was wrong.

"No. Why?" He asked.

"I don't know, you've been acting kind of strange lately, like you're keeping something from me."

"Well, I was planning something."

"Planning something?" Lorelai was intrigued.

"Yeah. I was planning a special night for us, to celebrate the baby." Luke replied.

"Oh." Lorelai smiled.

"I thought we'd just go to Sniffy's on Friday. Is that alright with you?"

Lorelai stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "That sounds perfect honey."

He pulled her closer. "Good." He whispered softly.

She lifted her head and their lips met in a soft kiss. Little did she know, he was planning something else special. It was Wednesday and they had both had a long week so far, barely having any time together. Luke hoped his surprise would be worth the wait.

* * *

When they got in the truck after leaving Sniffy's, Lorelai pulled Luke to her and kissed him deeply.

Luke pulled away after the need to breathe became too much. He pressed his forehead to hers for a moment before he spoke.

"Is that a thank you for tonight?" He asked.

Lorelai held back a giggle. "There'll be plenty more thanking, once we get home."

Luke leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, letting her know that he liked that idea. His surprise would happen before that.

Once they got home, Luke got out of the truck first as he always did. He walked around the passenger side and opened the door. He took Lorelai's hand and helped her down, not letting go until they stood in front of the porch.

"Luke. Come on, let's get inside and upstairs." She said in a low voice.

Luke was looking up at the sky. The moonlight was shining down on him. A memory suddenly flashed through Lorelai's mind.

* * *

" _Full moon, moment's here." Luke calls out to Lorelai as soon as he steps inside her house. After about a minute, Lorelai appears._

" _Hey." Luke greets her. He glances at her face and she tries not to meet his eyes. "Are you okay? You look upset. Have you been crying?" He asks, concerned._

 _Lorelai sighs, "Um… define 'okay'… but don't worry about it… you said something about a moment?"_

 _Luke stares at her. He can tell that she is not okay. But, he can also see that she is letting him have his 'moment' and he appreciates it._

" _Uh, come outside." He mutters._

" _Okay." Lorelai says simply and she follows him outside. Luke stops in the middle of the lawn. He glances up at the moon, which is visible from their spot. Lorelai looks at him, clearly waiting for him to do something._

 _Luke clears his throat, "Um… so, I know you already proposed and all, but I uh got you this." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring box. Lorelai continues to stare at him as he opens the box and reaches for her hand with his other hand. He takes the ring out of the box and awkwardly puts the box back in his pocket.  
"Marry me?" He asks softly. _

_Lorelai just nods, she's choked up with emotions. She wasn't expecting him to do this. Luke quickly slides the ring onto her ring finger. Once it's on, he pulls away a little, but doesn't let go of her hand. He smiles at her softly and she takes a moment before she speaks._

" _Luke, it's beautiful. I… you didn't have to get me a ring. You're too sweet." She drops his hand and brings her hand up to her face to look at the ring more closely. It shines in the moonlight._

 _The smile doesn't leave Luke's face, "I'm glad you like it and well, I got it because I knew you'd want one and I wanted to get it for you. And Patty and Babette kind of got to me when they seemed disappointed that you proposed to me. I wanted to have my moment, our moment and I was thinking about proposing before anyway."_

" _Really?" Lorelai asks, surprised._

" _Yeah, that's why I wanted the Twickham House, because I want a future with you. I want to marry you. You proposed to me first, but that's fine. I don't mind, we're engaged and I'm happy… and you're happy, right?" Luke looks at her, the hint of a smile on his face._

 _Lorelai's heart melts. She grins and wraps her arms around his neck and leans in and presses her lips to his. He kisses her back immediately and his arms come around her waist. They pull apart after several sweet, loving kisses._

* * *

"Lorelai," Luke's voice brought her back to the present. He took her hand in his.

She met his eyes and smiled softly.

"Um… you," Luke let out a breath. "Lorelai, you mean so much to me. Without you, my life would be dull and meaningless. We're taking a big step and bringing a baby into our lives. And I know we're ready to take on that challenge. I… I also think we're ready for another big step." He bent down on one knee then pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it. It was the same ring as before. "Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me?" He gazed up at her, his eyes shiny.

Lorelai gasped. She hadn't seen this coming. "Luke I…"

Luke frowned and slowly stood up. "I know." He looked her in the eye, "We decided years ago that we didn't need to be married. We were scared that it wouldn't work out again." He stopped, hoping she would speak.

She nodded. "And I just didn't want to get married again… not after marrying Chris. I mean that was never going to work out, but it kind of poisoned my view on marriage. I should have told him no. I never should have married him." She looked down at the ground.

"Hey." Luke said gently. She still wouldn't look at him. He dropped the ring box and took her hands in his. He knew she would still listen even if she wouldn't look at him.

"That was in the past. We both let the engagement fall apart Lorelai and you married him." She looked up when he said this.

"We can't change that. But we can change the future. We've been together nine years, Lorelai, nine. I think we've learned a lot and I think we're ready to get married. I would like to give our baby married parents… I guess I'm traditional in that way, but I also just want to marry you. You're it for me, Lorelai. You're the one."

When Lorelai didn't respond, Luke continued.

"It's all right if you still don't want to be married. I can accept that, really." He squeezed her hands.

Lorelai squeezed back. "No, I do."

"Really?"

Lorelai pulled her hands away and smiled. "Yes. You're right, however much I wish that Chris wasn't my first husband and you were… I can't change that." She shook her head. "But we found our way back to each other Luke and I know you're the one for me. It was always supposed to be you. I've been scared to get married all these years and I just thought that marriage wasn't necessary, that just being together was enough." She stopped and reached up and caressed his cheek.

"It was enough." He confirmed.

"But, deep down I knew that we could make a marriage work. I realized that a few years ago. I'm sorry." Lorelai started to cry.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I was fine with not be married, really Lorelai." Luke said softly.

She kissed him then. When she pulled back, she sighed.

"Yes, I'll marry you." She affirmed. "But not just because I want out baby to have married parents, but because I love you and I'm ready to be married to you." She wiped her own tears away.

Luke gently pushed her hands away and wiped at her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I love you too." He whispered. He picked up the ring box and opened it. She grinned and held out her left hand. He quickly slid the ring on her finger.

They both leaned in and ended up bumping noses. They laughed before Luke leaned in, tilting his head a little.

They kissed slowly. Lorelai pulled away reluctantly. Luke pulled her into his embrace and she rested her head on his shoulder. She was comfortable just standing there in his arms. Neither of them wanted to move.

After a couple minutes passed, Luke finally whispered in her ear.

"Let's go inside."

"Mmm okay," She pressed a gentle kiss to the spot below his ear before she pulled away. They turned and walked up the steps together, hand in hand.

* * *

Later, before they fell asleep, they set a wedding date. They decided to have a small ceremony at the Inn, before Isabelle was due. When Luke asked if she was going to invite her mother, Lorelai told him she was going to wait to see how the next therapy session went. Emily didn't even know about the baby yet.

When Lorelai let out a small sigh, Luke reached out and gently tipped her chin up.

"Hey, everything is going to be okay." He said.

"I hope so." She said quietly.

He knew she was thinking about her relationship with Emily, not their engagement.

He kissed her softly. "Night"

"Goodnight." She managed a smile and gave him another kiss.

Luke turned off the light and settled next to her, wrapping an arm around her middle.

Lorelai lay awake for another hour before finally falling asleep.

* * *

During the fifth therapy session with Emily, Lorelai finally mentioned the surrogacy. When Emily insisted that Lorelai and Luke were not permanent partners, Lorelai had had enough.

"We're having a baby!" She said loudly.

"You're pregnant?" Emily gasped.

"No. We're using a surrogate." Lorelai crossed her arms.

"Huh. I'm surprised they let you do that without being married." Emily didn't look at Lorelai as she said this.

"Well they are." Lorelai muttered. She didn't mention the engagement yet as she wanted to see where the conversation would go.

"I can see that you didn't know about this prior to now, Emily. How far are you in the surrogacy process, Lorelai?" Claudia, the therapist asked.

"Our surrogate is about twelve weeks." Lorelai replied.

"And you never told me you and Luke decided to do this. Just like you never told me you had a miscarriage years ago."

"Maybe it's because you dismiss my relationship with Luke to 'booty buddies' when we're in a fully committed relationship together. I know you just want me to do things the way you did them… get married, then have a baby. You think that's the only right way to do this." Lorelai bit her lip. "Well, you'll be happy to know Luke and I engaged. He proposed and I said yes."

"Really?" Emily sounded shocked.

"Yes." Lorelai held up her left hand, revealing the ring that she had been hiding from sight.

"Hmm, so I guess Luke did want to get married this whole time. He just went along with what you wanted." Emily said matter-of-factly.

Lorelai sighed and gave Claudia an apologetic look. "Mom, please can we discuss this later? I thought we were supposed to be talking about Dad. Is that the purpose of these therapy sessions?"

"Yes but I thought Claudia could help us. Our relationship isn't very healthy, Lorelai"

"Well maybe that's because you always attack me!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Attack you?"

"Yes, you criticize the way I live, my partner, question my feelings about my father's death and you expect me to just be okay with that?! I have to do things your way or else. You disapprove of almost everything I do, Mom." Lorelai snuffed.

"I just think you should be married before you even decide to have a child. And I don't criticize Luke, I just can't imagine a marriage with him being any different from your marriage to Christopher." Emily replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lorelai asked.

"I just don't see you committing to a marriage long term. Your marriage to Christopher lasted less than six months. I don't think you believe in marriage, or else you would have married Luke years ago. You run at the first sign of trouble. Your father and I had up and downs in our marriage but we always worked through our issues."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Just say it Mom, you wanted me to stay with Christopher and you don't think Luke could ever compare to him." She stood up. "I'm leaving. I don't want to talk about this here and I'm tired of you putting me down." She whispered a quick apology to Claudia and headed for the door.

Emily said a quick goodbye to Claudia and followed Lorelai out the door and to the parking lot.

"Lorelai wait!" She called out.

Lorelai stopped at her Jeep. She turned to Emily and crossed her arms.

"I know that you and Luke have been steady for many years and that you love him. I just wanted more for you."

"Exactly my point, you disapprove of Luke. But he loves me, he takes care of me and we're getting married. I wasn't ready to marry him all those years ago when you thought we should be married. But I am ready now, we're ready to get married and raise a baby together. We've moved on from the past." Lorelai looked her straight in the eye. "But you're still stuck in the past wishing I was still with Christopher. I wasn't happy with him though. Luke makes me happy, Mom. I wish you could see that."

 _I wish I could have your approval._ Lorelai didn't admit that out loud.

"I'm sorry Lorelai. It's taken me a long time for me to accept Luke. But I'm trying to come around. I just…" She looked off into the distance. "I wish your father was here to see you get married."

Lorelai remained silent. She didn't know what to say. She knew Emily had been dreaming of her daughter's wedding for years. But her version included being married to someone she never truly loved, Christopher. Sure, she and Richard had started to slowly come around to Luke over the years, but they never really stopped thinking about what could have been with Christopher. Lorelai knew that.

Emily had always imagined Richard by her side. Lorelai knew her mother was going through unimaginable pain right now. " _But that doesn't give her an excuse to treat you like this."_ A voice in the back of her mind said.

"I wish he was here too. When you told me that I couldn't care less about losing him, you really hurt me." She choked. "I loved him. Our relationship wasn't perfect. No relationship is. And I'm sorry that I couldn't come up with a happy memory on the spot when I was tipsy." She kept her eyes on Emily.

"Luke and I took so long to get here and I do regret that, but I needed those years with him. I am committed to Luke and we're getting married in a few months. I've had enough today… I'm sorry but I think we still need time apart, Mom." She wiped at the tears on her cheek.

"I know we can work through this. But I think time alone will be good for both of us okay?" Lorelai finished.

Emily just nodded. "You want to stop going to therapy then?"

"Yes. I don't think it's working and I just don't want to talk about something so personal with a woman I hardly know."

"I understand."

Lorelai coughed awkwardly. "I'll call you soon."

"All right," Emily answered. Lorelai opened the door and got inside the Jeep. She drove off, leaving Emily standing there.

Lorelai drove straight to the diner. She took a seat at the counter and waited for Luke to come out from the kitchen. He didn't notice her as he carried a plate to a table in the back.

"Oh Lorelai, hey, how did therapy go?" Luke finally saw her when he came back behind the counter.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lorelai leaned over the counter and Luke quickly pecked her lips.

"Okay well I can finish up here and head home early."

"No that's okay. I'm gonna go take care of some things at the Inn." Lorelai muttered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'll see you tonight."

Luke came around the counter and met her in front of the door. "Come here." He whispered.

She let him pull her into his arms.

He held on to her longer than usual and whispered in her ear: "It'll be okay."

"Yeah." She whispered back, believing him. She hugged him back then pulled away. "Bye doll."

"Bye." Luke gave her a gentle smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry for not updating for a while. I had writer's block. I decided to go a different way than the revival and have Luke and Lorelai get engaged earlier. I also think the therapist in the revival was awful (I think most people didn't like her haha) so I'm going to have Emily and Lorelai work out things on their own. I don't know if I wrote them well or not… please let me know what you think of this chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing + following.**


	6. Chapter 6

A couple weeks later, Luke and Lorelai planned an evening out. A few years back, they decided to spend at least one 'date night' a month together. Tonight, they were going to the Black White and Red bookstore/theatre to see a movie. It was a casual, non-formal date, but they still looked forward to it.

They walked there. Luke took her hand in his and Lorelai couldn't help but smile. They held hands or walked arm in arm almost everywhere they went now. Halfway into A Second Film by Kirk, someone's cell phone rang. It took several rings for Lorelai to realize it was Luke's phone.

She mumbled, "Ah Luke." And gestured towards his pocket,

"Oh shoot." Luke was sure the phone wasn't his. He pulled it out of his pocket and squinted at the screen.

"Nobody calls me at night." He was worried it was April, that something had happened to her.

Luke saw the area code of the phone number and was confused. "Who do we know in the eight-six-oh?" He asked Lorelai.

"My mother," She said absently then gasped. "My mother!"

"Your mother? Why is your mother calling me?" Luke was baffled.

"I don't know." Lorelai responded.

"She never calls me."

"Don't answer it." Lorelai warned.

"I'm not." Luke said although he was tempted to answer. Lorelai wasn't speaking to her mother and he wondered if Emily wanted to tell them something important and the only way to get the information to Lorelai was through him. He decided to go outside and call her back.

"Where are you going?" Lorelai called after him when he got up and headed towards the door. She was shushed by everyone.

She made a face and quickly got up and followed Luke. When she stepped outside, she immediately saw Luke standing there, staring at his phone.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm going to call her back."

"Are you insane?!" She exclaimed. She reached for the phone, planning to grab it out of her hands.

He pulled his hand back. "Lorelai," He gave her a stern look. "What if she needs to tell us something important?"

"Like what?" Lorelai frowned and crossed her arms.

"I don't know." Luke shrugged. "Look, you can go back inside, I'll handle this."

Lorelai's frown remained on her face. "But you shouldn't be talking to her." She muttered.

Luke bit his lip. "I promise I won't talk to her long. I just want to know why she called me."

"She called me you to get to me." Lorelai said stubbornly.

"Probably. But I just need to know what she wants and I want to know soon rather than later. She'll keep hounding me if I don't talk to her."

Lorelai let out a sigh. "All right,"

He reached out and took her hand with his free one, squeezed it gently. He met her eyes and gave her an appreciative look.

She flashed him a small smile before turning around and heading back inside.

Luke took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the call. After a minute, he made the call.

Emily picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Gilmore. It's Luke."

"Oh Luke… I didn't expect you to call back."

"Well here I am." Luke said slowly. He wanted her to get to the point and tell him why she called.

"You can call me Emily. We _are_ going to be in-laws, I hear." Emily said.

"Did you call to congratulate us? Because I know Lorelai doesn't want to speak to you right now after what went down at therapy… I know you aren't exactly happy with the idea of us getting married." Luke couldn't help but be blunt. He wanted Emily to know how he felt.

"Actually, I called because I have an urgent matter to discuss with you." Emily informed him.

"Me?"

"Yes, only you,"

"You want to talk to me without Lorelai being there?" Luke was concerned. What was Emily's plan?

"Yes. This matter concerns you alone. Are you free next Friday night? Can you come for dinner?"

"What matter? What do you need to discuss with me that doesn't involve Lorelai?"

"I'd rather see you in person. It'd be easier." Emily sounded irritated.

"Okay fine. I'll come to diner Friday night." Luke gave in.

"Alone?" Emily asked.

"Yes. I won't bring Lorelai, but I will tell her about it. You can't make me keep this a secret from her." Luke was reminded of keeping April a secret and he didn't want to hurt Lorelai like that ever again.

"Fine," Emily conceded, her voice lacking emotion. She hung up.

Luke heard the dial tone in his ear and pulled the phone away. He turned off his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. He went back inside and carefully made his way back to the 'love couch'.

Lorelai looked at him with raised eyebrows as he took his seat.

"We'll talk after the movie." He whispered as quietly as he could. He put his arm on the back of the couch.

Lorelai pouted. The movie didn't matter. She needed to know what Emily said. She tried to get Luke's attention by gently poking him.

Luke glared at her and gestured towards the screen. Lorelai rolled her eyes and whispered in his ear.

"I don't care about the movie, let's go home."

Luke shrugged and slowly stood up. Lorelai followed him to the door, grasping his hand.

Once they were a few steps away from the theatre/store, Lorelai frantically asked Luke what Emily wanted.

"She wants me and me alone to come to dinner next Friday."

Lorelai's brow furrowed. "Just you? Is she insane?"

"She said she has an urgent matter to discuss with me. She wouldn't give me any hint as to what it is." Luke put a hand on Lorelai's shoulder, urging her to relax.

"She's going to lecture you or pester you or something, you can't go without me."

"Lorelai, please it will be fine. I can handle your mother." Luke said with a perturbed expression.

"Are you sure? This is Emily Gimore we're talking about."

"I know but she insisted I come alone. Besides, you two need a break from each other and I don't want you stressed out. I can do this, I promise."

Lorelai looked unsure, but she sighed and whispered: "Okay but don't come crying to me when Hurricane Emily tears through you."

Luke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple. She wrapped an arm around his waist and they started walking towards home.

* * *

Friday approached fast. As Luke was getting dressed to head to dinner, Lorelai sat on the bed and watched him. She was very nervous, Luke noticed. Once he was dressed, he sat next to her.

"Stop worrying, it'll be fine." He put his hand on her knee and patted it a couple times.

"I'm trying not to worry; I just hate not knowing what she wants." Lorelai replied.

"I'm sure it will be fine. I'll call you before I head home." Luke's thumb caressed her knee.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Lorelai turned to face him and looked into his eyes.

"Yeah. She insisted I come alone and I know you really don't want to see her right now."

"Yeah, but I want to protect you… I don't know, I just feel like she's gonna hound you so bad." Lorelai grimaced.

Luke pulled his hand away. "I already told you I can handle her on my own. Nothing she says will make me feel any different about you or Rory or anything." He said sternly.

"All right," Lorelai conceded. "Just come home if it gets to be too much. You can walk out."

"Okay." Luke whispered. He stood up and walked out of the room. Lorelai followed him downstairs.

"Bye." He said softly.

"Kiss." She requested gently.

He leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss.

"Bye." She said. "Drive safe."

He turned and walked out the door. Lorelai went into the living room and turned on the TV to distract herself.

When Luke arrived at the Gilmore house and walked up to the front door, he took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.

Emily's maid, Berta opened the door immediately and greeted him.

"Hola, hello," She took his jacket.

Luke almost asked her how she was in Spanish before remembering Lorelai telling him that Emily said she doesn't speak Spanish.

He gave her a small smile.

"Ah Luke, you're here." Emily said as she came into the entryway.

"Here I am." Luke answered.

Berta walked away and Emily gestured for Luke to follow her into the living room.

"I don't have any beer, Luke. Would Scotch be all right?" Emily called from the drink cart as Luke entered the room.

"That'd be fine." Luke heard the front door opening. His heart skipped a beat as he wondered if it was Lorelai.

"Hi Grandma," Rory's voice called out.

Emily stopped pouring the drinks and turned as Rory walked into the room.

"Oh Luke, hi! What are you doing here? Where's mom?"

"I think the question is what are you doing here, Rory?" Emily came to stand in front of them.

"You said I could stay here tonight, remember. The Chilton thing is tomorrow." Rory said.

"Oh that's right." Emily nodded and gave Rory a smile.

"Your mother isn't coming tonight. Your grandmother asked me to come alone."

Rory frowned at Luke. "Oh?" She faced Emily.

"That's true. I have something to discuss with Luke and Luke alone. You can go upstairs." Emily replied dismissively.

Rory looked concerned, but she asked Emily if her boxes were upstairs.

"Yes, I'm sure Berta can help you find what you're looking for." Emily appeared impatient.

"Okay. See you later, Luke." Rory smiled at him.

Luke smiled back. "See you, Rory."

Rory headed upstairs.

"Here." Emily held out a glass of Scotch to Luke. "Let's go to the study."

Luke took the glass. He swallowed nervously. _Here we go._ He thought.

Once they were in the study and both sat down, it was silent.

"I'll just get straight to the point." Emily said.

Luke nodded curtly.

"Do you have a will?" She asked.

"A will?" Luke wasn't expecting her to ask him a question.

"Yes, a will." Emily looked annoyed.

""Uh no, I don't."

"Well you should get one, especially with you and Lorelai finally getting married. I don't want everything crashing down on my daughter's head if you die first, do you want that?"

"No, of course not," Luke said bluntly.

"Well I'm sure you don't know when you're going to die?"

"No." _What was she getting at?_ Luke wondered. _Did she think Lorelai needed a prenup?_

"Richard had an actuarial life table for the family, including you."

 _Huh? Including me? I'm a part of the family? Doesn't seem that way…_

"…a predication of everyone's day of death, remarkably accurate." Emily continued. She reached for something on the desk. "This is your file."

"My file?"

"You have some time left." She told him. "You'd use this information for life insurance needs. You can't leave Lorelai high and dry."

"No, we don't want that." Luke murmured.

"Richard left you a sum of money in his will." Emily disclosed.

Luke raised his eyebrows and stared at her. He wouldn't have guessed that in a thousand years.

"You didn't know that."

"No." He answered.

She told him the money was to be used for a specific purpose. He asked what that purpose was.

"To expand and franchise Luke's diner."

"What?" Luke was confused. He thought all talk of franchising the diner had ended years ago.

"You're to use the money to build an empire. It's right here." Emily stated. She went on to tell him that she already hired a real estate agent.

"Uh," Luke was at a loss for words.

"Luke, if you know what's best for you and Lorelai you'll do this. Richard didn't want Lorelai to suffer financially. I just want what's best for her."

"Really?" Luke scoffed, angry.

"Yes, she's pretty sure you're the man for her and I can accept that. I just want you two and your unborn child to be financially stable, and that's will come with franchising your diner." She said the word diner bitterly, like she was disgusted. "I know surrogacy isn't exactly cheap."

Luke pressed his lips together. "I thought you thought I wasn't good enough for Lorelai, that you want her to be with Christopher." Luke said.

"I did." Emily admitted. "However, Richard was actually… fond of you. He claimed that you were good for Lorelai if I remember correctly. I'd like to respect his wishes."

"Really? After you got Lorelai to go to multiple therapy session with you? After they went nowhere and you caused her a great deal of pain and emotional distress? Emily, I'm sorry but I don't want Richard's money and I don't want to get between you and Lorelai."

"You don't have to get between us. Just accept the money and use it for the purpose Richard intended. I'm sure Lorelai would be happy if you were more financially stable. You can't live off of her money and the little money you make running Luke's." Emily said.

"I'm getting by fine." Luke said, his tone flat. "But that's the thing; you don't know what makes Lorelai happy. We don't need money to be happy. We're fine. I don't want to franchise Luke's and I don't need to. I need to talk to Lorelai. The money is meant for me and Richard wanted me to spend it a certain way, but I know Lorelai will have an opinion about it. I'm not deciding anything without her." Luke let out a breath and looked Emily straight in the eye.

"Well fine. You tell Lorelai about it. And tell her that I accept that you are her life partner. Richard accepted you into the family and I can do the same." She met his gaze. "I'm being honest, Luke. I know Lorelai is happy with you and you've been stable for many years. I just don't want to see you hurt her again. She threw herself into a marriage with Christopher and it didn't work out because she never stopped loving you. I know you're the only person she wants to marry. I just need to trust you. I want to attend my only daughter's wedding."

"Okay. Tell her that. I don't want to be the middleman." Luke contended. "I appreciate the franchise offer, but it's not for me. I'm going to tell Lorelai all about what we discussed today." He pushed his chair back and stood up.

Emily followed him as he headed out the door. "But what about dinner?" She called out.

"I'm not hungry." He lied. "I'm going to head home to Lorelai. You should call her in a few days… or even a few weeks. She needs more time apart from you, I think." He said gently.

Emily looked upset. "Oh all right. Drive safe, Luke."

Luke just nodded. He remembered giving her a quick hug when he left to drive Rory to the airport after the funeral. A hug would not be appropriate now. He removed his jacket from the rack and left.

He called Lorelai on his cell and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hi! Are you coming home already, babe? How'd it go?" She said quickly.

"Yeah, I'm heading home now." Luke sighed. "We'll talk when I get there."

"Um okay, don't rush home though. Drive safe."

"I will. Love you."

He could hear the smile in her voice, "Love you too, hon."

* * *

 _Author's note: The next chapter will have more to do with the baby. I just wanted to follow along with the revival and Emily telling Luke about Richard's will.  
Thanks for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story. I will try to get the next chapter up sooner rather than later. _


	7. Chapter 7

When Luke returned home, he found Lorelai sitting on the couch eating pizza. She swallowed when he stepped into the room.

"Hey." She greeted him and patted the spot next to her.

Luke took a seat and noticed there was another pizza box next to the one that was open.

Lorelai followed his gaze, "Oh I got you a pizza, a healthy one… well as healthy as you can get with pizza." She smiled.

Luke nodded. He wanted to talk before he ate. Lorelai put a hand on his knee.

"Was my mother awful?" She asked.

"Well, she was persistent to say in the least."

She raised her eyebrows, urged him to continue.

"Your father left me some money."

Lorelai put her half-eaten slice of pizza down on her paper plate. "What?"

"Richard left money for me. And he wanted me to use it for one purpose and one purpose only." He met her eyes and let out a breath. "He and your mother want me to franchise the diner."

Lorelai scowled. "Really? But I thought he, I thought both of them knew you didn't want to do that."

"They don't care." Luke said. "They think I can't support you financially. Your mother doesn't think we can afford the baby or a wedding."

"Hmph. Of course she doesn't. She doesn't think you're right for me either." Lorelai replied. "After all this time…" She added.

"Well she claims that she can accept that we're together. She said your dad was uh actually fond of me." He frowned and looked down, not really believing it

"Oh well, that's actually somewhat true. He appeared to be off the Christopher train the last few years. I mean it just seemed like he actually believed I'm happy with you, unlike my mother. She can't see that."

"Yeah," Luke sighed.

Lorelai patted his leg. "Hey." She said gently.

Luke looked up.

"You know that her opinion doesn't change the way I feel about you, right? I don't care if she can't accept you. You're the one for me, hon." Lorelai smiled softly and moved her hand to his head.

"I know." Luke said, returning her smile. He didn't have any doubt.

She gently ran her fingers through his hair before pulling her hand away.

"I just." He paused. "I sometimes wish things could be different. I wish you were close with your mother. I wish she would come around." He felt conflicted. One part of him wanted Lorelai to have a good relationship with her mother. He still missed his mother every day and he wished she could be here to meet Lorelai. He wanted Emily to accept him and be a part of their life, especially with Richard gone. The other part of him was angry with Emily and he needed her to see how she was hurting Lorelai.

"What did you say to her?" Lorelai asked.

Luke took a few seconds to respond. "Well I told her I wouldn't take the money, I definitely don't want to franchise. And I basically told her that I don't want to get between the two of you. I would never accept that money."

Lorelai nodded slowly, "Good. I'm proud of you babe."

"She said she accepts me as your partner, but I wasn't really convinced. She wants to be at the wedding." Luke rubbed his face with his hand. "I don't want her using me to get to you. I mean I suppose the main reason she invited me over was to let me know about the money Richard left, but it was more than that too."

"I know. I hate that she did that to you." Lorelai said. "I'll talk to her when I'm ready. One day…" She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

Luke's arm came around her. "Okay." He whispered. He definitely didn't want to push her.

They sat there and watched TV while Luke ate his pizza and Lorelai had brownies for dessert.

* * *

A few weeks later, Isabelle called Luke and Lorelai and invited them to an ultrasound appointment.

"I'm so excited." Lorelai gushed.

Luke couldn't help but smile. "Me too," He had missed out so much with April and he couldn't wait to see his baby for the first time.

A half hour later, they were looking at their baby on the screen.

"Woah," Luke whispered.

Lorelai grasped his hand and twined her fingers through his. "That's our baby." She whispered.

The ultrasound technician moved the wand. "Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" She asked quickly.

Luke and Lorelai looked away from the screen. He dropped her hand. They looked at each other. They hadn't discussed it before.

"I didn't know with Rory… I think it would be nice to know." Lorelai said gently. "But it's okay if you want it to be a surprise." She smiled.

Luke thought about it for a second. "I want to know." He said.

"Okay, that settles that." Lorelai turned and nodded at the technician.

She moved the wand again. A small smile crossed her face. "It's a little boy."

Luke and Lorelai reached for each other's hand.

"A boy!" Lorelai exclaimed. She was a little shocked. For some reason she had thought it would be a girl.

"We're going to have a boy." Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand.

"We're going to have a son." She said, squeezing his hand back. "And he's gonna be adorable."

Luke just smiled softly. He started to wonder if their son would look more like him or Lorelai. Maybe he would have his hair and Lorelai's eyes. Or Lorelai's nose and his mouth. He couldn't wait to meet their son.

Twenty minutes later, they were outside the hospital.

"Thank you so much, Isabelle." Lorelai gave her a hug.

"You're very welcome, Lorelai. I'm so excited for you two." Isabelle replied, pulling away after a few seconds.

"Thank you." Luke said gently with a small smile.

Isabelle returned his smile. They chatted for a bit before heading their separate ways.

Luke opened the passenger side door. Lorelai gently shut it.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, confused.

Lorelai gently pushed him back a little and brought her lips to his. They kissed a few times.

"I just wanted to kiss you before we started driving." Lorelai laughed.

Luke chuckled and shook his head. "Crazy lady," He murmured affectionately.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and hit him playfully. "Let's go home. I'll call Rory on the way back and tell her the news."

Rory's phone went straight to voicemail when Lorelai called. She was a little worried but she figured maybe Rory was just sleeping or something, although it was the middle of the day.

* * *

A few hours later, Luke and Lorelai were eating dinner when Rory came bursting in the house, pulling a suitcase behind her. She went straight into her bedroom.

"I'm moving back home." She announced.

Luke and Lorelai frowned at each other across the table. Lorelai told him she would go talk to Rory once she was done eating.

Lorelai and Rory talked for a while and Lorelai felt sympathetic but she also felt a little exasperated. She felt bad that Rory couldn't find a job and was happy to have her home but she also felt like Rory wasn't as helpless as she seemed.

"So I we went to an ultrasound appointment today." She said quietly, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah. How'd it go? How's the baby?"

"He's great, healthy."

"He?" Rory raised her eyebrows.

"Yep, we found out today, you're getting a little brother." Lorelai grinned.

Rory gave her mother a small smile. "A brother… that will be different."

"Yup. Luke and I are thrilled. I would have been thrilled with another girl too but a boy will be fun."

"Are you sure about that? Boys are kind of gross." Rory teased.

Lorelai smirked. "We'll make sure to raise him right. He'll be the most polite boy you will ever meet."

Rory just nodded. She looked down.

"What are you thinking about?" Lorelai asked.

"About Grandma, have you spoken to her recently?"

Lorelai frowned. "No, but she invited Luke for dinner and he went there and talked to her,"

"Luke went to Grandma's alone?" Rory sounded shocked.

"Yep, she insisted he come alone. Apparently your grandpa left some money for him."

"Grandpa left money for Luke?"

"Yep, to franchise Luke's, that's the only purpose he can use it for."

"Really? I can't picture Luke doing that." Rory responded.

"He rejected the idea and the money…" Lorelai sighed. "And Grandma claims that she's accepted he's my partner and she wants to be a part of the wedding but I don't know…"

"Well if she said that I think she means it." Rory said a little defensively.

"Yeah, but hon, she used Luke to get to me. I won't speak to her so she told Luke what she thinks I want to hear."

Rory crossed her arms. "Why don't you just talk to her? I don't like seeing you two fight."

Lorelai moved closer and tucked a piece of Rory's hair behind her ear. "I know but I just need more time away from her. I don't one hundred percent believe she accepts that I'm happy…" She sighed. "I'll think about talking to her soon, okay?"

Rory pulled away a little. "All right. I hope you know I don't like being in the middle any more than Luke does."

"Of course I know that." Lorelai's tone was gentle. She got up off Rory's bed. "I'll leave you to unpack. April's coming next week so you should make sure the room's ready to share. Do you want Luke to whip you up something to eat?"

"No, it's okay. I ate earlier."

Lorelai nodded. "Good night." She said quietly.

"Night," Rory quickly glanced at Lorelai before turning to her suitcase.

* * *

Later that night, Luke and Lorelai lied in bed, each of them reading a book. Luke quickly glanced at Lorelai and saw a troubled expression on her face.

"Is the book bad?" He asked.

Lorelai set the book in her lap. "Hmm? Oh no, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"My mom and Rory,"

"Oh yeah? What did you and Rory talk about?" Luke regretted asking that. More often than not, Lorelai had respectfully kept her conversations with Rory private from Luke.

"Uh she seemed a little excited about the baby being a boy. She wants me to make up with my mother though."

Luke bit his lip. "Oh, well what did you tell her?"

"Just that I need more time and I don't think my mother really sees that I'm happy with you." Lorelai said slowly.

"They'll come around." Luke couldn't think of anything else to say.

Lorelai put her book on the nightstand and moved closer to Luke. He put his book down and lifted his arm. She snuggled up to him, laid on his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

They lied peacefully like that for a few minutes. Lorelai lifted her head when she heard Luke yawn.

"Good night hon." She kissed his lips twice then turned off the lamp on her side of the bed and settled next to him.

"Night," Luke turned off his lamp then rolled over to face her. She was facing the wall. He put his arm over her waist and closed his eyes.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8

April's visit went fairly well. She spent a lot of time with Rory and seemed to be stressed about school and other young adult problems. Luke agreed to let Lorelai help fund April's trip to Europe. He did feel a little possessive of April but Lorelai was going to officially become her stepmother and he didn't see anything wrong with her showing her support and love for her. The surrogacy was going to cost them a lot, but they could still manage. Luke planned to run the diner until he was at least seventy and Lorelai couldn't see herself selling the Dragonfly for many years.

Rory still had a hard time finding a job so her plan to move back in for a few weeks turned into two months. The townies (mainly Babette) urged her to join the "Thirty Something Gang" but she refused. She felt embarrassed and frustrated.

Lorelai agreed to be part of the Stars Hollow musical committee. Michel insisted that he was leaving the Dragonfly which left Lorelai feeling stressed and upset. When she came home after a night of drinks at the secret bar with him, Luke immediately noticed something was wrong.

He met her at the front door and pulled her into a hug. She clung to him, pressing her face into his flannel, taking in his familiar scent. She was a little tipsy, but it didn't help her forget about Michel.

"Michel's leaving me high and dry." She told Luke.

Luke pulled back a little but kept his arms around her.

"Really?" He asked. "Why?"

"He wants more money, money that I can't give him. He already has another job offer…"

"Oh. So let him go then." Luke shrugged. "You need someone you could pay less."

"That's what Michel said!" She raised her voice as she pulled away from him. She walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it.

Luke went over to join her. He put a hand on her knee and rubbed it a little. "Well it's not like Michel is the best employee anyway."

Lorelai looked offended. "He's still my friend and okay, yeah maybe he's not the friendliest guy all the time but he actually does his job well."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Really? And how many complaints from customers have you had regarding him over the years?"

Lorelai moved, changing her position so that he couldn't touch her knee. "That's not the point. Everything's changing so fast and I can't handle it. I just need everything to slow down and not change."

"Change can be good sometimes." Luke said softly. He was thinking about their year apart. They had both changed and evolved during that year and although he never wanted to lose her, he knew they needed they had needed that time apart. It made the third and last try at their relationship stronger.

"I guess so. I'll just miss him and I don't know…" Lorelai trailed off.

Luke moved closer and she let him wrap an arm around her. "What is it? You can talk to me. I'm not Michel's biggest fan but I understand how you feel."

"Well I need him to stay because I'm gonna need some time off when the baby comes and Sookie's still gone and…" She hiccupped. "None of the chefs we hire work out. Everything is getting so hectic." She let out a small sob and put her face in her hand.

Luke rubbed her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. "Shh it's okay. Everything will work out fine."

"You don't know that." She objected.

Luke didn't say anything. He just kept trying to physically comfort her. She didn't pull away again. They were silent for a few minutes

"Thank you for trying to comfort me and for doing Tuesday burger days at the Inn and everything you do, Luke, really." Lorelai lifted her head and met his gaze. "I don't deserve you."

Luke's brow furrowed. "Don't say that."

Lorelai pressed her lips together, "Well I feel like you are the one who's trying so hard to keep everything together and keep me and Rory happy, whereas I'm just crumbling and I appreciate it. I appreciate you." She said sincerely.

Luke cleared his throat then caressed Lorelai's cheek with thumb. "You think you have to be superwoman and do everything all at once and try to hold the world on your shoulders… You're strong Lorelai, and you can persevere and do anything you put your mind to. I'm here to help but you're a strong, determined woman and I'll be damned if you fall into a pit of self-despair."

Lorelai nodded slowly. She needed to hear that. She would try her best to keep things from falling apart. She vowed to start looking for someone to replace Michel, to try to ease up on the current head chef, and to try to mend things with her mother sooner rather than later.

Luke kept rubbing her back and her shoulder as she remained silent. She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Hey Luke… are you scared?" She asked suddenly.

"Scared of what?"

"Scared to have a baby with me, scared to have a newborn in the house, scared to be a parent of a small, precious baby?" The words flew out of her mouth.

He considered her words for a minute. "Yeah. Of course I'm a little scared. I've only ever held a few babies in my lifetime. I barely know how to change a diaper." He thought of the couple times he had babysat Doula. "But I know that I can be the best parent I can be because I'll have a great mother and wife by my side." He let out a breath.

Lorelai smiled. He smiled back but she dropped his gaze.

"But I haven't been a mother to an infant in over thirty years." She said.

"I know but you've been around a lot of babies. Davey, Martha, Steve, Kwan and Doula and Sookie and Jackson's other kid." The name escaped him. "I know it's different with your own kid… the stakes are higher." He gently took her hand. "We still have a lot of time to prepare. And when our son comes into this world, he'll have two parents who love him and they may be a little scared but they'll protect him as best as they can…" He stopped, clearly thinking of what else to say.

Lorelai kept her eyes on him as she thought about what he said. "You're right. It's okay that we're a little scared and it's okay that we don't have recent experience with babies. We're going to love him with all our hearts and he won't ever feel left out or unwanted."

"Exactly," Luke smiled. He reached down and wiped at a tear that had fallen on her cheek then kissed her temple.

"Do you want to go baby shopping tomorrow?" She asked.

"If you want to. We've still got a few months to prepare."

"But those months will fly by." Lorelai deduced.

Luke nodded. He kissed her cheek then pulled away and stood up.

She took the hand he offered to her and allowed him to pull her up.

"Let's get you to bed." He said.

"Mmm," She muttered, wrapping an arm around his waist.

They went upstairs and changed then brushed their teeth and got ready for bed.

"Luke?" She whispered right before he turned out the out.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'll call my mother soon… if she doesn't contact me."

"All right." He managed a smile. He wouldn't object to that. Not if it was what she wanted. "Good night." He gave her a peck on the lips and turned off the light.

* * *

A couple weeks later, Emily emailed Lorelai about Richard's gravestone. There had been four mistakes with the previous stones and the fifth one was set to arrive soon. Emily wanted Lorelai and Rory to come to the gravesite. Lorelai was surprised to find that Emily had company at the house. A man was there.

The conversation was awkward to say in the least. Lorelai excused herself and called Rory. Rory admitted that she had told Emily to start going back to the club. Lorelai put the blame on her. It was her fault that Emily was moving on with another man. _It wasn't really her fault_ Lorelai thought but didn't say. Rory said she was finishing up at the Gazette and she would meet them at the gravesite.

Emily came into the kitchen when Lorelai had ended the call with Rory. Lorelai insinuated the fact that she thought Jack was a gold digger. Emily was clearly annoyed and told Lorelai that she and Jack were just friends. Lorelai came to the conclusion that maybe it was good Emily was moving on. She told her so.

Emily took that the wrong way, "Oh I see, it's good that I'm moving on because now I'm someone else's problem."

"What?"

"It means you won't have to worry about me anymore now that I have a man in my life."

"I didn't say that." Lorelai objected.

"You're released from all responsibility." Emily stated.

"I didn't mean…" Lorelai stammered.

"So you've forgotten about your father?" Emily questioned.

Lorelai didn't understand how Emily was jumping to that conclusion. Emily said she wasn't dismissing Richard by moving on with Jack.

"Okay…" Lorelai didn't want to fight about this. She was more concerned about what they had fought about before. Their current debate, Luke's place in the family and Emily accepting him.  
"Let's just head to the gravesite. Rory's meeting us there."

Emily agreed. Jack drove them there. The drive was silent. He waited in the car while the three Gilmore women walked up to the grave. There was yet another mistake on the gravestone. While Emily went off to discuss the mistake with Stanley, Lorelai and Rory stayed back and placed the new flowers they had brought in front of the grave.

Rory finally told Lorelai what she had been working on. She planned to write a book. A book about her life, their lives, a book that would tell Lorelai's story. Lorelai dismissed the idea right away. She and Rory argued for a bit before Rory stormed off.

Emily came back. "Where's Rory?" She asked.

Lorelai sighed. "She left. She said she'd check in on you later."

"Oh… did you two fight?"

"No we did not fight… we just had a little disagreement. We don't fight."

"Really?"

"Yes really." Lorelai crossed her arms.

The two women were silent for a minute.

"Um Mom, listen." Lorelai said in a low voice.

Emily looked at her, her expression unreadable.

"I want us to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"Stop whatever this is." Lorelai gestured between them. They were standing a few feet apart.

"You want to stop our stalemate?" Emily raised her eyebrows.

"It isn't a stalemate." Lorelai said.

"Then what is it?"

"It's a fight, a disagreement… it's ugh." Lorelai bit her lip. "The cause of it is you not accepting my decisions. You don't accept my partner, my town or anything I've done in my life. You're not proud of me, you never were." Her voice broke.

"That's not true at all." Emily objected.

"Yes it is, Mom. Ever since I moved out at seventeen, all you've done is disapprove of my choices and my lifestyle."

"I am proud of you." Emily said sternly. "I'm proud that you graduated business school and opened your own Inn. I'm proud that you raised Rory right and she went to Yale…" She trailed off.

"But you wanted more for me. You wanted _me_ to go to Yale and have a better job and a suitable husband, a better life. My world came crashing down when I got pregnant, but I worked hard and I did everything I could for my little girl. Rory made me who I am today. If she was raised in your house, she would become what you wanted me to become. I had to get her away from you and Dad… you just don't understand why."

"No you're right, I don't understand. Maybe if you had stayed with us, you would have a happy memory of your father you could share. That's where this stemmed from, your inability to remember that your father was a great man, a great father." Emily's voice shook.

Lorelai's arms remained crossed, "Look maybe we shouldn't talk about this at his grave. Let's go somewhere else."

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading, following, and reviewing this story. I left it on a bit of a cliff hanger. The next chapter will be out as soon as possible.**


	9. Not an Update- Discontinuing Story

I'm sorry, but I lost interest in this story. I don't really want to write it anymore. I'd rather write about Luke and Lorelai's relationship then Emily and Lorelai's and I feel like this story has drifted… I just don't know how to continue it and I don't want to spend time on it anymore.  
However, I came up with an idea for a new story that takes place after AYITL and I hope you'll read it once I post the first chapter soon. Thank you for all the reviews/support.


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